So you've just heard speakers that blew you away

I have never heard the Salk speakers. Don't think there are any dealers in my area. I've heard good things about them. Are they first order xovers? Don't know much about them. I have liked some of the Joseph audio speakers I've heard in the past, but for the cost I really wanted a full range legit sub 40hz. I don't know if they have that at that price range. I still can't get over the fact that I went to Audio Connections to buy new Proacs as that's all I've ever owned and I can away with Vandy Treo's. It changed my whole paradigm in how I listen to higher end systems. I used to listen for huge soundstage and imaging. I love bass and a full range, but I always ended up liking monitors best. Then I hear the various higher end Vandy's and it opened up a new way to listen. They just sounded like what I heard the night before (live concert). It blew me away. Then I went back to listen to other systems I was looking at and they all left me cold. They just didn't hit that emotion. I'm sure there are some smaller upstart companies who have 'IT', but I haven't heard any so far that have that. I have heard some of the exotics that also lack this emotional magic. Is this what the Magico's have? I did like the new Legacy's, but for the cost, I like the Vandy's better.

The Salks are second order, but they have excellent crossovers. The Salks are mail order, but they have sold so many that there are probably people in your area that would let you listen to theirs. You could call Jim Salk if you were interested in finding somebody in your area.

http://salksound.com

Bob

Bob, thanks. I"m not great at reaching out though, lol. I'm set on the Vandy Treo's, but am always looking and listening.

Cstooner,

Sadly, I'd have to say that a great system won't necessarily sound great in any decent room. Far from it - on at least on two different levels, IMO.

First, I believe that the room issues below 100ish hz are, in almost all cases, best addressed with room correction software, (but I also know that many here will disagree). I've heard many excellent systems transformed by DRC software, even in excellent rooms as the inevitable low frequency room induced FR issues are cleaned up. Check that out for yourself to decide where you end up on the issue.

The other issue is simply room volume (cubic feet). Any given Speaker model generally sounds much better in a room of a given volume. The big MBLs (to cite one example) can sound great in a huge room, but I'd never want to listen to that speaker system in a small to medium sized space.

I hope you can recreate the outstanding experience you heard on audition with the same system in your own room. I like stories with happy endings. I just wouldn't be completely confident until I actually heard the results.

Best of luck in the effort.

Marty, you make valid points and I agree for the most part. I have heard the Vandy's that have adjustable bass sound great and they should be able to integrate into nearly any room. When the term decent sounding room was used, it was in regards to bass since that and slap echo seem to be two of the major issues in rooms.
You bring up a great point IRT room size and what size room the speaker is made for. That's usually in regards to wave size isn't it? That would be bass. I think that many people listen way too loud because their speakers or ams can't breath unless they do. I've found that to be a major issue. When auditioning, most good stores will start with a realistic level and most will turn up the levels.

All good points as there are no absolutes when discussing audio.